Chelsea and Spain striker Fernando Torres will join AC Milan on a permanent basis in January.

Torres, 30, moved to the San Siro on a two-year loan deal in Augustand will complete a permanent transfer to the Serie A club on 5 January.

He joined Chelsea from Liverpool for a then British record transfer fee of £50m in January 2011.

The former Liverpool striker helped win the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup while at Chelsea.

In a statement,  Chelsea thanked the 2010 World Cup winner for "his service during the past four seasons" and wished him "the very best for the future".

Torres had been linked with a return to boyhood club Atletico Madrid after their president hinted at a deal earlier this month.

Earlier on Saturday, Atletico Madrid assistant coach German Burgos also said a deal was "on the verge of completion".

"He will be a very important reinforcement for the second half of the season," Diego Simeone's number two told Spanish media.

Torres left Atletico for Liverpool in 2007.

The stats

• Torres cost Liverpool a reported £20m when he signed in 2007 from Atletico Madrid and scored 65 goals in 102 league appearances.
• He was a member of Spain's 2010 World Cup-winning squad.
• Despite his record transfer fee, Torres scored just 20 goals for Chelsea in 110 league appearances.